The perfume I threw away contained a secret that I discovered too late.

I bought my husband his dream watch for our tenth anniversary.

All he got me was a cheap perfume in a plastic bottle.

I was so angry that I threw it aside and never wore it again.

For illustrative purposes only.
This was our last celebration because he passed away unexpectedly three weeks later.

The pain of losing him was unbearable; I replayed that night over and over, angry not at the gift anymore, but at myself for letting disappointment overshadow love.

I missed his laugh, his voice, even the way he reminded me to drink water when I was too busy.

Today I was cleaning and I dropped the bottle.

When it hit the floor, the cap popped off and a small folded piece of paper slid out.

(Continued on the next page)